Surgeon General defines end state of Performance Triad roll out

1 / 1Show Caption +Hide Caption –Lt. Gen. Patricia D. Horoho, the surgeon general and commanding general of U.S. Army Medical Command, makes comments to Col. Jeffrey Lawson, M.D., and the Command Initiative Group, during a brief about the Performance Triad recently. Respective subject matter experts on each performance pillar were represented at the briefing. In addition to the performance triad subject matter experts, there were several key stakeholders from industry to share best practices. (Photo Credit: Dwayne Rider)VIEW ORIGINAL

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (Feb. 27, 2013) -- Army Medicine senior leaders and industry stakeholders recently met with Lt. Gen. Patricia D. Horoho, the surgeon general and commanding general, U.S. Army Medical Command, to discuss the current Performance Triad pilot program and to gain a better vision of the way forward.

All three of the Performance Triad components -- activity, nutrition, and sleep, or ANS -- are essential to improving the health of our Soldiers, civilians, and families. The components of the triad have a significant impact on the readiness of the force.

According to Horoho, even with the budget constraints, the Performance Triad is an organizational imperative that the Army must invest in to improve the readiness and resilience of the Army family. It is generally agreed that a healthy mind and body are essential to individual and unit readiness.

The Performance Triad complements the Department of Defense's Operation Live Well, the Army's Ready & Resilient Campaign, known as R2C, and the Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness Program. Each of these programs encourages Soldiers and Families to be more proactive in developing healthy behaviors for life. Education plays a key role in socializing the Performance Triad across our sphere of influence and training packets are being developed for the phased role out.

The life space is where people make decisions about their health related to activity, nutrition, and sleep. Army Medicine estimates that most patients visit a doctor one to five times a year, and each visit is about 20 minutes in length. Those 100 minutes are where Army Medicine can impact patient health. The other 525,500 minutes are when people are at work, or at home with their families, or where health happens. It is in this life space where the choices people make impact their lives and their health.

"This is our moment," said Horoho. "We have the right strategy, the right plan and senior leaders willing to support us. We have to give them a viable plan. When the Army embraces this and it is in our DNA, then and only then can we consider this program a success."

Another key part of the Performance Triad, according to Horoho, is to find innovative ways to incentivize health as it becomes part of the strategic shift moving from a healthcare system to a system for health. The Army and Army Medicine will continue to encourage members of the Army family to incorporate health-promoting behaviors and decisions into their everyday lives. The success will be measured by the improvement in health and the reduction of disease and injury among Army team members.

This spring, Army Medicine will implement a Performance Triad pilot program at three installations: Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.; Fort Hood, Texas; and Fort Bragg, N.C.